Previewing the best upcoming fights around the world
The star ratings indicate how well the writer believes the fighters match up, the fight(s)’ contextual significance, and how good the fight(s) will be
WHOLE SHOW
IT IS more than 13 years since Frank Warren assembled what he described as the most competitive card in his promotional lifetime and labelled it ‘The Magnificent Seven’. On Saturday in Manchester, they ride again.
Back then it was the likes of Nathan Cleverly, Kell Brook and James DeGale who featured at the Birmingham Resorts World Arena, then known as the NEC, years before they went on to become the stars that they did. The hope in Manchester is that some of the current crop will begin to emerge in a similar fashion.
Perhaps the most promising member of Warren’s entire stable takes part in the nominal main event in an encounter which will tell us much about his ceiling. Nick Ball, the 18-0 (11) featherweight, takes on experienced former belt-holder Isaac Dogboe. The pair are currently No.1 and No.2 with the WBC and this is a final eliminator for a shot at Rey Vargas.
Ball has been tipped as a star of the future for
